• The Beer Guide For Nerds Part 2: Porter

  

  Written by destructomaximo 9 Comments
  Last Updated:: October 10, 2008

  History:

  Strong, heavy, and stout. These were three words associated with porters who worked the streets, docks and rivers of England and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Men who were the strongest and lifted the heaviest also craved the strongest and the heaviest when it came to their beer. They brewed with only the darkest roasted of the malts, which created the menacingly dark color of the mysterious brew. There are many stories in regards to the origin of the porter, with the most popular placing the first porters as a mixture of brown, pale, and extra-strong ale, being almost certainly fabricated. The closest to the truth is that beer in the 18th century was brewed by the breweries but aged and fermented by the distributors of the time. When you went to buy beer, it would be poured for you directly from the barrel into the container and needed to be consumed immediately. With Porters coming in after a long day of labor, the explanation of “yes, we have beer, but it’s still aging, so you can’t have any” would not be acceptable, and the resulting pour would be weak and immature ale. The breweries began to develop beer that was actually aged at the brewery and ready to be consumed the moment it hit the stores and pubs. The result was a fully mature, strong, dark beer that was immediately a hit with the industry’s largest demographic, the porters. The strongest and darkest of the porters were first called “extra porters,” but as the strongest beers had been drunk by the strongest men, these “extra porters” became known as “stouts,” for the extra stout men who drank them.

  NERD ALERT:

  While modern technology has removed the need for giant men who can drag half of a boat, the thirst for porters has only increased. Why? because to create that technology we have become stout in mind. Enter the math nerd (me!). We know the importance of understanding all of the parts of the equation in order to fully appreciate the whole. Watch a porter drinker’s ritual next time they order a pint. They will first take a deep sniff (any hints of mystery smells? Any notes of fruit or woods?) look at the head (is it firm, with the consistency of beaten egg whites?), next they will hold it up to the light (how red or amber is the glow through the body [by the way, Guinness is ruby red when looked at up to the light, beautiful!]? are there visible impurities?), then comes the sip, letting it sit in your mouth (what’s the beer texture? is it heavy? How does it feel in your mouth?), finally, we swallow (what is the finish? any after taste? what are the subtle notes?). Once we understand all of the parts of the solution, we can feel much more satisfied with knowing what that solution is, and the solution for any problem in my life is: a fresh pint of porter.

  Recommendations:

  Otter Creek’s Stove Pipe Porter, Moat Mountain Brewing’s Smoke House Porter and, of course, Guinness Draught.

  

  If you haven’t read part one yet, read it here.

9 Comments

1. #1 George says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 3:09 am

   Why has no one commented yet, its porter man. The stout, dark brew made for men like Bruce Campbell. Beer, the greatest thing to happen to the world since cooking.
2. #2 DM says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

   dang dude, i know. I wrote it at work too…where there was no chance in getting my hands around one for hours…
3. #3 Declan says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 3:55 pm

   What the heck!!! A blog about beer and only two comments (and one of those from the blogger himself). Nerdtastic article to say the least, but you forgot about my personal favourites, Smithwicks and Murphy’s Irish.
4. #4 DM says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

   @Declan

   Thank you! Those are both GREAT brews. If any of you out there in nerddom can find Southern Tier’s Chokolat stout PLEASE buy it and drink it. Their flagship brews are not that great, but the 22 oz bottles they serve up have never let me down and this stout may be the best chocolate stout i’ve ever had. OH, Harpoon’s Leviathan series Baltic Porter is also a new fav.

   Peace and food and drink and merriness

   DM
5. #5 Jerry says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

   You guys should do a top 100 beers list.
6. #6 Bill says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

   What ever happened to this beer guide? Great stuff. I lived in Alaska for 11 years, and my personal favorite porter is Alaskan Smoked Porter. When I moved back to CT I never thought I would find it again until I randomly found it in a liquor store in Mass. If you haven’t tried it yet, I suggest giving it a go. It has just the right amount of smoke in it and the flavor of the wood they use to smoke their barley is great. There’s just enough of it in there, so that it’s not overpowering.

   Once again, this beer guide is great, and I look forward to seeing more entries!
7. #7 President Steve says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

   @Bill:

   I love Alaska Smoked Porter as well. I bought a case of it a few years back for about $120 with shipping. It is quite possibly one of my all-time favorites.
8. #8 Ian says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

   Ive been drinking guinness a bit lately, depends on the pub though, too much variation in styles of pouring and the taps make a huge difference too, then again when every pub in the country servers it there will always be somewhere with a good pint.

   Kilkenny is good too, its mainly made for export and is very different from country to country, when Ive had it at home in ireland its been more like a stout but in poland, belgium and the netherlands it is more like an ale
9. #9 Nicole says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

   “and the solution for any problem in my life is: a fresh pint of porter.”

   LOL.